


Stuck in Our Youth

by therealjainasolo



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-14 12:43:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4565100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealjainasolo/pseuds/therealjainasolo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Emma and Mary Margaret find themselves in the Enchanted Forest, they come across not only Captain Hook but his supposed sister Nimueh. Both of them want to go Storybrooke to exact revenge on Rumpelstiltskin but what are Nimueh's true intentions for the Crocodile?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Doctor

Two figures stood on a ridge, a man clad in leather with a hook for a hand, and a teenage girl with her hands buried in the pockets of her brown frock-coat. The man was peering through his telescope and the girl squinting in the same direction. They were joined by a woman and the two figures turned to face her.

"Hello Hook, Nimueh," the woman greeted and girl nodded.

"Hello Cora," the man acknowledged. "You told me you had something important you needed to show us."

In response, Cora held up a small vial containing a purple substance. The girl's eyes narrowed at the sight of it, feeling the magic radiating off of the vial.

"Sparkly dirt. Wonderful," Hook sighed.

"Just the remains of a magical wardrobe that can travel between the worlds," Cora smirked.

"Is that enough to get us to where we need to go?" Nimueh asked hopefully but the woman shook her head.

"Not quite. But it's a start."

"We're almost ready to sail," Hook announced. "What's our port of destination?"

A slow smile spread across Cora's face. "Storybrooke."

"Hm, curious name. Is that where…" Hook trailed off.

"She is. And so is he," Cora added and Nimueh grinned darkly.

"Excellent. You'll be able to see your daughter, and Nimueh and I can skin ourselves a crocodile."

* * *

The four women walked cautiously into the camp, weapons drawn at the feeling that something terrible had happened in their absence. Horrified gasps clawed their way out of their throats at the sight that met them. Dead bodies were strewn over the place that had been the only solace in the Enchanted Forest; villager upon villager scattered over the ground, some piled three or four high, blood stains covering their chests.

"Oh my God," Emma whispered and tears sprang to her mother's compassionate eyes.

Everyone was dead.

"This can't be," Mulan frowned, finding her voice at last. "Our land, we were protected here, hidden. How did the ogres find us?"

Mary Margaret, who was crouched next to a body, shook her head. She recognised exactly what had happened here: after all, her step-mother had been quite proficient in it. "Ogres didn't do this."

"What?" The soldier was confused. What other explanation could there have been for this massacre?

"Cora did. Their hearts…they were ripped out," Mary Margaret's voice grew thick with tears. "This was her magic…twisted and evil. We  _have_ to  _stop_ her."

Mulan threw up her arms helplessly. "Too late! She killed them. She killed them  _all_."

Mary Margaret stood up, crossing her arms over her chest as her eyes went hard. "We have to stop her before she hurts anyone else." There was finality in her voice, the tone that no one should argue with her. It was the voice of a Queen.

Emma and Aurora had drifted away from the conversation between their leaders, their eyes sorting through the bodies desperately, hoping beyond anything that there was someone still alive.

And there was. A groaning sound filled the air and honestly it was the best sound Emma had heard all day.

"Hey," she called back to the other women, "Hey. Look." She pointed in the direction the noise had come from and Aurora helped her to pull bodies away.

Movement. There was definitely someone there.

"There's someone alive under here!" Aurora's breathless exclamation sent Mulan and Mary Margaret running over and the four women managed to haul the bodies off with a renewed sense of purpose. They may not have been able to save everyone else here but they  _would_  save this one person, not matter what it took.

"Please," a broken cry came through; a man's voice, low and desperate with an English accent.

Finally they saw him, dark scruff and light eyes, squinting in the sudden light.

"It's okay," Aurora assured him but his fearful expression didn't abate.

"My sister," he pleaded. "Please, help my sister."

There was someone else?

Emma's eyes snapped to the prone figure next to him, whom she had thought was just another body: a girl, roughly late teens with dark brown curls and sporting a bloody head wound.

"She's still alive," the man proclaimed and Emma noticed that his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, "but I don't know for how much longer. Please help her. She's all I've got left." His voice cracked and Emma could practically see her mother's heart break.

"It's okay. You're both safe now. Your sister is going to be okay," Mary Margaret promised.

The man sighed in relief. "Thank you.  _Thank you."_

* * *

The man sat huddled in his cloak at the table, his eyes not leaving the unconscious form of his sister whom Mary Margaret had laid on a pile of cloaks and blankets she had pilfered from the huts. She was still unconscious but the blood on her head had been cleaned and her face had regained some colour. He knew she would awake soon anyway. Oh no, he wasn't worried about  _that_.

Emma stood with Mulan, discreetly watching him. Her delight at finding someone alive had long since faded, now to be replaced with a growing feeling of distrust. Something about this did not add up.

"You've seen them before?" Emma questioned Mulan who stood stoically next to her, one hand constantly on the hilt of her sword.

Mulan nodded. "Yes, I've seen them around. He's a blacksmith. They came to our camp a couple of months ago. Said he lost his hand in an ogre attack. I don't really know anything about the girl. The two mainly keep to themselves."

"Why would Cora leave two survivors? As if one isn't enough," Emma lowered her voice. "It's messy and it doesn't make sense."  _Unless they're working for her._

Mulan raised an eyebrow. "You think he's lying?"

"I think Cora tricked us before. I don't want that to happen again."

Being pushed into consciousness after being brutally knocked out of it was  _not_  a nice feeling. A red hot pain shot through her forehead and she blindly reached towards the source of the pain, eyes still squeezed shut. Her fingers came into contact with the beginnings of a scab and suddenly everything came rushing back to her.

_That son of a-_

"She's waking up." A woman's voice. Not Cora's but it sounded familiar. The sound sent a burst of pain through her and she winced but opened her eyes because there was no use in pretending she wasn't awake.

The bright light brought an automatic hand up to shield her eyes. After a few seconds her eyes adjusted and she saw that there was more than just one woman standing over her. Four in fact; two of whom she recognised as Aurora and Mulan and the other two wearing the most outlandish clothes she had ever seen. It had been Aurora who had announced her waking and the princess was crouched next to her, an encouraging smile on her face. The girl smiled back weakly, slowly pushing herself into a sitting position. Her dark eyes flickered around searching for one person in particular. He was standing in between the two women she didn't know, arms crossed over his chest and what he thought was a worried expression plastered on his face. He was staring at her intently and she knew exactly what he wanted her to do.

Too bad she wasn't going to do it.

"How are you feeling?" "Do you remember who did this to you?" Two voices spoke at one, the first belonging to the woman with dark short hair, whose face seemed vaguely familiar and the second belonging to the blonde.

 _Oh yes._ She knew  _exactly_ what had happened to her. The girl opened her mouth, meaning to say something but the words got stuck in her throat. Just like always.

"She doesn't speak. Nim's a mute," the man spoke up and five sets of eyes turned to look at him. Two were sympathetic, another one surprised and yet another suspicious. The last set of eyes, dark brown and belonging to 'Nim' were downright furious.

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Emma asked, her head tilted slightly as she surveyed the man.

"I didn't think the first thing you'd do when she woke up was interrogate her!" he sounded defensive now and Emma's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Well, seeing as your sister can't tell us anything, why don't you? An island full of corpses…and you two are the  _only_  ones to escape. How exactly did that happen?"

The girl raised her eyebrows at her brother mockingly, wanting to hear his story as much as Emma did.  _Yes, what exactly_ did  _happen?_

"She attacked at night," he swallowed, "…slaughtered everyone in one fell swoop. When she started ripping out people's hearts, there was ruckus of people who realised what was happening. I took my eyes off my sister for one second and the next someone had managed to hit her in the head and knocked her out. I hid us under the bodies of those who had already been killed. Pretended to be dead as well. Must be the ruse worked."

Emma nodded and turned back to Nim. "Is this what you remember?"

The man stared at her stonily, almost daring her to question him. After a moment, she nodded but Emma didn't look convinced.

Emma narrowed her eyes at the man and leaned down closer to him. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." He subconsciously moved closer to her, a flirty smirk on his face. "I am pretty good at knowing when someone is lying to me."

Nim hid a smirk at the outraged look on her brother's face.

"I am telling you the truth," he insisted.

Mulan moved forward, getting bored with the questioning of the strangers. "We should leave here, in case Cora decides to come back." This group needed to get their priorities straight if they wanted to survive and this wasting time was grating on her nerves.

"We should start searching for a new portal back to Storybrooke," Mary Margaret chimed in. "I only got about five minutes with my husband, not to mention my grandson."

Both Nim and her brother raised an eyebrow. "You have a grandson?"

Mary Margaret grinned sheepishly. "Long story."

"Well, I know this land well," the man spoke up cheerily. "I can guide you-"

He didn't get the chance to finish because he suddenly found a knife at his throat and a snarling blonde on the other end of it.

"You're not gonna guide us anywhere until you tell us who you really are."

* * *

 

It didn't take long for Nim and her brother to find themselves tied to a tree by Mulan with a stony-faced Emma staring at them and flanked by the two princesses. Nim sighed, cursing the fact that she couldn't answer a single question and get them out of this mess. The only highlight was watching  _him_  getting more and more flustered.

"I already told you," he gritted his teeth. "I'm just a blacksmith."

Emma smirked. "Sure you are." She whistled and then turned her back on the captive pair. "You don't want to talk to us? Maybe you'll talk to the ogres while they rip you limb from limb."

Nim's eyes grew wide and she started to struggle against the rope.  _No way_  was she going to get eaten by  _ogres_ because of this  _arsehole._

Emma glanced at her apologetically but gestured to other three women to follow her. "Come on."

" _What?"_ The man shrieked. "You…you can't just leave me- us,  _us-_ here like this!"

The four women continued to walk away and Nim kicked her brother furiously, practically screaming at him in her mind to get them to come back. He clenched his jaw, knowing that this was ultimately his fault and it wasn't as if  _Nim_ could speak to them.

"She's just a child!" he tried again, desperation leaking through his voice. Still, Emma didn't stop but Nim noticed the way her back straightened at that word.  _Child_.

Her brother didn't seem to notice and switched his tactics again. "Good for you! You bested me. I can count the amount of people who've done that on one hand."

 _That_  made her stop. Nim frowned. Seriously? A  _competition_ made this woman stop?

"That supposed to be funny?" Emma snapped. "Who _are_  you?"

The man glanced at his sister for a second as though asking for her permission. Nim tilted her head imperceptibly and he turned back to the four women with a charming grin on his face.

"This is Nimueh…but you may know her as the Lady of the Lake."

Emma raised her eyebrows and the other three women turned to look at Nim with varying degrees of shock on their faces. Nim nodded in greeting, grinning sarcastically.

"As in Excalibur and King Arthur?" Emma frowned. Nim pulled a face but nodded.

" _O_ -kay. And you?" Emma turned back to the man.

"Killian Jones, but most people have taken to call me by my more colourful moniker…Hook."

"Hook," Mary Margaret deadpanned.

"Look, just check my satchel if you don't believe me," Hook sighed.

Mary Margaret looked reluctant but picked up the brown bag and rooted through it. The first item she brought out was a sword, slightly smaller than a normal one. She held it up questioningly. "And what is that supposed to prove?"

Hook smiled, teeth shining, like a shark. " _That_ is Excalibur."

Emma's eyebrows shot up and Mary Margaret nearly dropped the sword in shock, prompting Hook to call rather mockingly, "Careful lass, it  _is_ sharp." The woman ignored him, instead inspecting the sword closer and saw that it certainly looked anything but ordinary: it was sleek and elegant, a thin shining blade engraved with symbols she had never seen before and matching symbols surrounding what looked like a small ruby sitting delicately in the hilt. The weapon practically radiated power.

" _The_ Excalibur?" Emma breathed.

"No, the other one," Hook scoffed and Nim hit her head back against the tree trunk in exasperation.

"Fine, so she's the Lady of the Lake," the blonde nodded. "But  _that_ doesn't prove that you're Captain Hook."

" _Captain_ Hook?" he smirked. "So you have heard of me?"

Emma glared at him.

Suddenly Mary Margaret let out a small gasp.

"What is it?" Emma called over her shoulder, her eyes still on Hook.

"Look," Mary Margaret breathed and Emma did just that, turning her head to look at her mother and her eyes rested on a hook. She stared at it for a second almost in disbelief before turning back to face the pirate.

"Okay. You better hurry up. They're getting closer. So unless you want for you and your sister to be dinner, you better start talking."

"Cora wanted us to gain your trust so we could learn everything there is to know about your Storybrooke. She didn't want any surprises when she finally got over there."

"She can't get there," Mary Margaret spoke assertively. "We destroyed the wardrobe."

"Ah, but the enchantment remains," Hook returned. "Cora gathered the ashes. She's going to use them to open up a portal."

A roar filled the air and Nim stiffened. The ogres were close. She was going to be ogre-bait and she couldn't even use her damn magic to get herself out-

"Now if you'll kindly cut us loose."

Mulan shook her head. "No. We should leave them both here to die to pay for the lives they took."

Nim opened her mouth in outrage but of course nothing came out.

"That was Cora, not us," Hook argued but Emma was already backing away, unable to look at Nimueh as she did so. Nim silently scoffed at the woman's cowardice: she couldn't even look at the person she was leaving to die.

"One more thing before we go," Emma started and Hook leaned forward expectantly, hoping to be let go.

"You two aren't even related are you?"

The other three women gasped but Emma merely raised her eyebrows. "Well?"

Nimueh and Hook exchanged a look before simultaneously shaking their heads. Emma smirked triumphantly, as if congratulating herself for her observations.

"So what are you?" Mary Margaret called.

Hook smirked. "Old friends, I guess you could say."

Emma frowned and called, "Let's go," to her companions, ignoring the enraged looks of Hook and Nimueh and the disapproving looks from Mary Margaret. Nonetheless, the four women began to walk away.

Nim pulled furiously against the ropes and kicked Hook's leg to get his attention. The pirate turned his head, reluctant to take his eyes off of the four retreating figures, as she struggled to pull up the sleeve on her left arm to reveal a leather cuff sitting there. Nim caught his eye and Hook knew exactly what she was telling him.

_If you take this off, I can get us out of here._

Hook shook his head and instead called out, "Wait. Wait! You need us alive."

Nim fell back against the tree defeated. Her  _one_  chance to get this bloody thing off of her arm, gone. Hook's big gob had better get them out of this…

"Why?" Emma stopped, cocking her head to the side in interest.

"Because we both want the same thing: to get back to your land."

Emma scoffed. "You would say anything to save you and your friend. Why are we supposed to believe you now?"

"We arranged for transport with Cora but, seeing how resourceful  _you_ are, I'll offer you the same deal: we'll help  _you_ if you promise to take us along."

Mary Margaret looked doubtful. "How are  _you_  going to help get us home?"

"The ashes will open a portal," Hook explained. "But to find your land, she needs more. There's an enchanted compass. Cora seeks it. Nim and I will help you obtain it before she does."

Emma started to nod. "So Cora won't be able to make it to Storybrooke, and we'll be one step closer to getting home."

Mary Margaret frowned. "Sounds too good to be true."

Hook raised an eyebrow. "There's only one way to find out."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake with the sound of footsteps drawing nearer. The ogres. Emma looked briefly in the direction of the ogres before turning back to Hook and Nimueh.

"You tell me one thing, whatever you say, I better believe it. Why do Captain Hook and the Lady of the Lake want to go to Storybrooke?"

Hook's smiled darkly. "To exact revenge on the man who ruined our lives: Rumpelstiltskin."

* * *

_Nimueh frowned at the approaching figure of a ship, crossing her arms over her chest as she felt a figure come up to stand beside her._

_"Looks like we have visitors," he murmured and Nim nodded._

_"I'll go see who it is," she replied, patting his chest as she turned to call out a command, "Boys, get the boat. We have visitors!"_

_"Be careful," he warned almost teasingly but Nim could see a glint of underlying fear in his eyes._

_"I'll be fine love," she reassured him,_ _checking that Excalibur was firmly fastened to her belt before striding down the beach and climbing into the small rowing boat. Felix climbed in beside her, his cloak obscuring his face but Nim knew that he had that ever-present smirk on it. She rolled her eyes, smiling as one of the boys pushed the boat away from shore._

 _With three other boys and Felix helping to row the boat, they came alongside the ship fairly quickly and Nimueh's eyebrows furrowed at the fact that the ship had dropped anchor. They were_ expecting _them. Nim grimaced as she stood, causing the boat to rock slightly, before grabbing hold of the side of the ship and hauling herself overboard. Felix was not far behind and the two stood on the ledge, Felix with his club over his shoulder and Nim fingering the hilt of Excalibur, smirking at the ship's crew..._

_...and it's very familiar captain._

_"I didn't expect to be seeing_ you  _again," Nimueh smiled, tilting her head at the figure of Killian Jones, a far-cry from the naval officer he had been, instead wearing a black leather coat and leather trousers._

_The captain merely smirked in return, holding his hand out as he gestured to his boat. "I have a gift for you."_

_Nim's eyebrows shot up. "For me? What could I possibly want from you?"_

_He turned to point at the door to below deck. "She's through there."_

_"She? What's a woman doing on a_ pirate _ship?"_

_Killian raised at eyebrow at that comment, clearly not expecting her to be able to guess that, but he merely smiled. "She wanted to see you...and I'll wager that you want to see her too."_

_Nim exchanged a look with Felix, who shook his head, convinced that this was a trap. She turned back to Killian and shrugged, before jumping down off the ledge and onto the deck. "Alright. But fair warning: if I don't come back, these boys will slaughter your crew. And I'm sure you know that_ he _'ll never let you leave here."_

_Killian sighed. "I'm well aware."_

_Casting a teasing look back at Felix, Nim pushed opened the door to the captain's quarters and was met with the sight of a woman_ _. The woman had her back to Nim and was dressed in a black blouse with a red waistcoat and brown leather trousers. This woman looked like a_  pirate _but Nim knew of no female pirates._

_Nim coughed gently, alerting the woman to her presence and causing her to turn around_

_Nim felt her stomach drop at the face that met her._

_"Mama?"_

* * *

Nimueh flexed her wrist and winced. She was grateful for the removal of the rope and even more so for the fact that the women had chosen to leave her hands untied, unlike those of Killian. The pirate strode through the forest just in front of her with Emma hot on his heels. The blonde was unwilling to let him out of her sight but had apparently deemed Nim to not be a threat and had left the girl to walk with her mother.

Mary Margaret shot Nim a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry about…you know." The woman winced, disgusted at herself for actually allowing Emma to leave these people to die.

Nim sensed the woman's discomfort and smiled back.  _Not your fault._

Emma was the obvious leader in this group, despite the fact that she was clearly very uncomfortable in this land. The clothes were an obvious giveaway that Emma did not belong here, but there was also the fact than Emma carried what appeared to be a weapon of some sort but one that Nim had never seen before. Mary Margaret was dressed in the same style of clothing as the blonde, yet she seemed perfectly at ease here. Emma, however, was on edge and…well,  _clueless_  to the ways of this land.

"Up ahead," Killian called. "We'll find the compass just over the ridge."

Mary Margaret increased her pace so that she walked next to Emma. "Do you get the feeling that he's leading us exactly where Cora wants us, that this whole thing's a trap?"

"It's definitely a trap," Emma murmured. "As long as  _we_ know they're trying to play us, we can…"

"…stay one step ahead of them," Mary Margaret finished but looked over her shoulder at Nim who was now walking between Aurora and Mulan, the former trying to engage in a cheerful one-sided conversation and the latter looking downright uncomfortable. "What about Nim?"

Emma swallowed. "I don't know. Part of the time I think she's here against her will but if she wants revenge on Mr Gold…"

"The Lady of the Lake  _is_  a very powerful witch," Mary Margaret whispered. "But surely she would have used her magic to get herself away from the ogres?"

Emma nodded. "I don't think she's not using her magic willingly."

Mary Margaret stifled a gasp. "You think she doesn't have it."

"I  _think_ we need to keep an eye on her."

The group suddenly emerged from the trees to see a large beanstalk standing in the middle of a field in the distance, stretching up into the sky and through the clouds.

"Let me guess…the compass is up there?" Emma called to Hook who only grinned in return.

"Oh yeah."

"So how do we…get to it?"

"It's not the climb you need to worry about. It's the giant at the top."

* * *

_Rumpelstiltskin was going to enjoy killing this horrid little man._

_Killian Jones, the man who had stolen his wife, was finally going to pay for what he had done, going feel the pain that he had felt when Milah had left. Rumpelstiltskin stuck his hand into the pirate's chest and curled his fingers around the man's heart. He made to tear the heart from his chest when two voices filled the air._

_"Stop!"_

_"Papa!"_

_Rumpelstiltskin felt his own heart nearly give out. "Milah? Nimueh?"_

_Milah stepped forward, clad in clothes that made Rumple want to tear his eyes out. She looked just like a pirate. Just like_ him.

 _Nimueh was closely behind her mother, wearing a brown frock coat on top of a turquoise corset top with black trousers and knee-length boots. Strapped to her waist was a sword Rumpelstiltskin would have easily recognised had he been less distracted. As it was, all that he was thinking was that this was a far cry from the twelve-year old girl Rumple remembered, the one who wore dresses and hung on his every word. But, he realised with a jolt, it was_ his _fault that she was no longer that girl and never would be again._

_In his shock, Rumpelstiltskin removed his hand from the pirate's chest and the man practically fell to the ground._

_"Hello papa," Nim grinned, her eyes hard and cold. "Been a long time. Tell me, have you always been this…sparkly?"_

_"How?" Rumpelstiltskin breathed, looking between his daughter and wife in confusion._

_"Milah, Nim, just run," Killian called desperately._

_"No. I'm not leaving without you," Milah replied forcefully._

_"Yeah Killian, you're my ride home," Nim added, not taking her eyes off of her father._

_Rumpelstiltskin_ _didn't hear his daughter's remark, instead focussing on the worried look in Milah's eyes. "Oh how sweet," he crooned. "It appears there's more to this tale than I know. Tell it to me Milah."_

_"Please, don't hurt him. I can explain."_

_"Tick tock, dearie. Tick tock."_

_Nimueh winced at the tone her father's voice had taken on. She knew that she had been away for a long time but she had no idea that her father had become this. It almost made her grateful that he had abandoned her when he had, or else she would have been forced to watch as he became this crazed man._

_"That first night, when Killian and his crew came into the tavern, he told stories about the places he'd been. And I fell in love with him. I didn't mean for it to turn out this way. I didn't know how to tell you the truth. I'm sorry." At the tale, Milah's eyes had taken on a misty quality that Rumple did not like. One bit._

_He swallowed and turned to his daughter. "And you? Why are you here? What have you been doing since-"_

_"Since you abandoned me and left me to die?" Nim cut in, her voice like knives. "Oh,_ so  _much." Nim stepped forward but Milah's hand on her shoulder prevented the girl from getting too close to her father. "Do you not remember meeting a girl named Nimueh when you were seventeen years old? Did I really make such a fleeting impression?"_

_Rumpelstiltskin's eyes widened as realisation dawned. "That was you?"_

_Nim smiled and her next words were like honey. "Yes Papa, you named me after that girl you left to die when you were a teenager, as a… commemoration I guess. But then you abandoned me anyway. Turns out, you named your daughter after_ your daughter."

_"Time travel is impossible," Rumpelstiltskin hissed._

_Nim smirked. "Not in Avalon_ dearie."

 _Rumpelstiltskin swallowed and his eyes hardened as he turned back to a confused looking Milah, arms out wide when he announced, "And so, here we are. You've come to save the life of your twoo wuv- the pirate. I didn't realise the power of true love before. It is impressive. I'd hate to break it up. Actually…no. I'd_ love  _to."_

_Nim hadn't realised how close Rumpelstiltskin had gotten to Killian until he pushed his sword into Killian's side. Milah started forward, desperate to stop him._

_"Wait!" She cried. "I have something you want."_

_"Mama," Nim called warningly but Milah shot her a look that said '_ I know what I'm doing.'

_Rumpelstiltskin was dubious. "Well, I find that very hard to believe."_

_Milah pulled out Smee's red hat and Nim wanted to face palm. She couldn't be serious?!_

_"Where did you get that?"_

_"You know who I took it from. I may not know what the Dark One wants with a magic bean, but I have it."_

_Rumpelstiltskin smiled and his voice became high pitched. "Oh, I feel a proposal coming on."_

_Milah exchanged a look with her daughter who nodded reluctantly. "The magic bean in exchange for our lives. Deal?"_

_"I want to see it first."_

* * *

_Nim and Milah helped a wounded Killian back to the ship and were immediately met by a pirate asking, "What happened?"_

_"Fetch some water," Milah commanded and handed Killian to Nimueh who helped him to lean against the side of the mast. "And get me that prisoner below deck, along with the goods that he carried. Now!"_

_The pirate turned back and called, "Bring up the prisoner!"_

_Nimueh crouched beside Killian and placed a hand over the wound closing her eyes in concentration._

_"What are you doing?" he grunted painfully._

_"Just a little trick I picked up in Avalon," Nim murmured. "Now hush, let me concentrate."_

_Slowly, the skin began to repair itself and the wound closed. Killian looked up in amazement, feeling only an aching pain, and carefully touched the skin where the wound had once been. "You are_ wasted  _on that bloody island."_

_Nim hit his shoulder good-naturedly and stood up, dusting her hands on her trousers. "You're just lucky the wound was fairly shallow. Anything more than that and I wouldn't have been able to help you."_

_"Ah, my daughter the healer," a mocking voice filled the air and Nimueh glared at her father as he boarded the ship._

_"Well Milah," he commented to her mother. "Seems like you finally found a family…you could never have with me."_

_Nimueh rolled her eyes at the self-pitying tone of his voice._

_"Alright, get your sorry arse up there." The pirate reappeared with the prisoner being dragged by the crew. Milah took Smee's satchel and took out the magic bean, holding it up to Rumpelstiltskin as evidence. He moved to take it but, before he could, Milah flung the bean at Killian who caught it and clenched it in his hand._

_"You asked to see it and now you have," Killian stated, holding where his wound had once been as an aching pain juddered through him. Nimueh had successfully healed the wound but he still felt a fraction of the pain it had caused and that was still enough to hinder him._

_"Do we have a deal? Can we go our separate ways?" Milah asked, her eyes wide._

_"Do you mean, do I forgive you? Can I move on?" Rumpelstiltskin replied. "Perhaps, perhaps. I can see you are twooly in love."_

_Milah sighed in relief. "Thank you." But Nim didn't buy her father's words for one second._

_"Just one question," Rumpelstiltskin began, holding up a finger._

_"What do you want to know?" Milah frowned, unaware of Nimueh stiffening beside her._

_"How could you leave Bae?"_

_That's when all hell broke loose. Several ropes anchoring the ship began to magically become undone. Nim's eyes widened and she held up a hand, running along the side of the ship and magically redoing the ropes. Rumpelstiltskin didn't notice, instead stepping closer and closer towards Milah._

_"Do you know what it's like, walking home that night-"_

_"Rumpel-" Milah tried but the man wasn't having any of it._

_"Knowing I had to tell our son-"_

_"Please."_

_"That his mother was dead?"_

_Nim watched Rumpelstiltskin with wide eyes; her hands still up as she attempted to keep the ropes under control. The Dark One was snarling at his wife now and Milah continued backing away._

_"I was wrong to lie to you. I was the coward, I-"_

_"You left him! You abandoned him!" Rumpelstiltskin was yelling now and Nim suddenly grew furious._

_"And_ you  _left me to die!" she screamed, dropping her hands as she glared at the imp. Rumpelstiltskin turned to look at her, instead waving a hand in her direction to shoot magic at her. Nim threw up a hand in response, ready to throw his spell back at him, but the Dark One smirked and waved his hand at a pile of ropes lying on the deck. They magically wound themselves around a furious Nimueh like an enchanted snake, tightening against the girl's every struggle. Rumpelstiltskin stalked towards his daughter, pointing a shaking finger in her glaring face and he glanced down at the sword hanging from her belt, recognising it instantly._

 _"Well_ dearie, _you may be the Guardian of Avalon," he smirked. "But_ I  _am still the Dark One and your feeble powers are no match for mine."_

_Nim spat in his face, still struggling against the ropes. Rumpelstiltskin wiped the spit from his face, smirking, and giggled before stepping back to a shaking Milah._

_"Why were you so miserable?" he asked her softly._

_Milah's eyes were shining with tears as her husband stopped in front of her. "Because I never loved you."_

_That's when Rumpelstiltskin finally snapped. He stuck his hand through Milah's chest, grabbing her heart._

_"Milah!" Killian yelled, the same time as Nim screamed, "Mama!"_

_Killian stumbled forward, despite his pain, but Rumpelstiltskin easily stopped him, waving his other hand and binding the pirate to the mast. The Dark One pulled out Milah's heart and the woman fell painfully to the deck._

_"No!" Both Nimueh and Killian cried. A surge of magic escaped her and the ropes fell weakly away, just as Killian also managed to escape his binds and caused one of the hooks to fall onto the wooden deck. The pair both ran to Milah, Killian behind her and laying the woman against his chest and Nimueh falling at her mother's side._

_"I love you," Milah murmured to both of them, stroking her daughter's cheek and placing her other hand on Killian's cheek._

_"No Mama," Nim sobbed, placing her hand over Milah's. She turned to face her father. "_ Please  _Papa."_

_Rumpelstiltskin's eyes were cold as he crushed Milah's heart, letting the dust fall through his fingers._

_Nimueh watched him numbly, feeling Milah's hand fall._

_"I will_ never _forgive you for this."_


	2. Tallahassee

The six figures found themselves staring up at the beanstalk, the immense plant stretching up into the clouds. Nim winced as she rubbed at her wrists: they were still raw from the rope she had been bound with.

"It's a little freakier than I remember from the story," Emma muttered.

"Reminds me of death," Mulan put in, causing Nim to pull a face at the morbid statement.

"Encouraging," Mary Margaret murmured.

"Well, your compass awaits," Hook announced. "Shall we?"

Emma held up a hand. "Wait. If these beans create…portals, why not just pick one and go home? Why the compass?"

Nimueh rolled her eyes: this woman  _really was_  new here.

Hook seemed to be of the same mind-frame and explained, "Because there aren't any more beans. Whatever story you think you know, my dear, is most certainly wrong."

"There was a guy named Jack, and a cow, and something about an evil giant with a treasure and a golden goose…or harp…" Emma trailed off, frowning.

Nimueh blinked, exchanging a look with a very amused looking Hook.

"Sounds like a lovely tale," the pirate didn't bother to hide the laughter in his voice. "But the truth's a little bit more gruesome. The giants grew the beans but, rather than use them for good, they used them to plunder all the lands. Jack was a man who fought a terrible war, defeating all but one of the evil giants. The beans were destroyed by the giants as they died. If they couldn't have their magic, then nobody could. It's really very bad form."

Emma still looked confused. "Evil giants, who made magic portal beans? Why doesn't anyone just go up and grow some more?"

"Because one giant survived. The strongest and most terrible of them all. And we'll have to get past him to-"

"The magic compass," Mary Margaret finished.

Hook nodded. "The treasure remains, and amongst it is the compass. Now it will guide us to your land. Cora has the means to open a portal with the wardrobe ashes, but she can't find your land without the compass. Once we get it, steal the ashes from her and we're on our way."

Mulan was still suspicious. "How do we know that you're not just using us to get the compass for Cora?"

Nim sighed silently.

"Because you four are far safer company. All we need is a ride back. Nimueh and I will swear allegiance to whomever gets us there first."

Emma moved towards the beanstalk, "Then we'd better start climbing." The blonde made to put her hand on the plant but was stopped by Nimueh slapping the hand away. "Ow! What was that for?" Emma glared at the girl who only rolled her eyes in answer and pointed at Hook.

"Right, so… I  _may_  have failed to mention that the giant enchanted the beanstalk to repel intruders," the pirate shrugged.

"Alright," Emma grit her teeth. "So how do we get up there?"

"Nimueh and I have got a counter spell from Cora," Hook held up his bound wrists. "If you'd be so kind."

Mary Margaret stepped forward and untied him. In response, Hook and Nimueh both held up their right arms, showing two glowing leather cuffs.

"There is only enough magic for two of us, so who will climb the beanstalk?" Hook raised his eyebrows at the group.

Emma sighed, pursing her lips. "Nimueh stays here and one of us will go with you." Nim rolled her eyes at the fact that this woman thought she could order her what to do, although part of her  _was_ grateful that she wouldn't have to make the trip up the beanstalk: facing a giant was really  _not_  the top of her to-do list right now,  _especially_ without her magic.

Hook smirked. "So…which one of you four lovelies shall take her place? Hm? Go  _on_ , fight it out. Don't be afraid to, you know,  _really_  get into it."

Thus began an argument between the four women. Nimueh came to stand beside Killian, crossing her arms over her chest, and the pair watched as Mulan, Aurora, Emma and Mary Margaret all fought to be the one the go up the beanstalk.

"All due respect, I'm the best equipped to go. How many wars have you been through?" Mulan argued.

"My share," Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow.

"It should be me," Aurora put in and Nim turned her snort into a cough: that girl didn't seem capable of walking through a bloody forest, let alone climbing a  _beanstalk_.

"You?" Mulan frowned. "You haven't fought in a battle."

"This is about getting home to our loved ones. Why would you-"

Aurora cut off Mary Margaret with a bitter statement of, "Because I have no loved ones. If I fail, you can still go on."

Emma finally butt in, "It's me. I'm going, and I'm not going to fail." Nim had been waiting for that.

Mary Margaret sighed. "You're new here."

Emma scowled. "It's about getting back to Henry." Nim frowned and mouthed ' _Henry?'_ questioningly at Killian, who only shrugged in response. "I don't care what I have to face... You're not going to argue with me?"

"Would it do any good?" her mother murmured.

Emma smiled triumphantly. "No. Anything in that bag that's going to help with a giant?"

Mulan looked down at Hook's satchel. "Were you referring to Excalibur or the hook?"

"Hey!" Hook called.

Mulan took Emma aside and Nimueh turned to face Killian, holding out her arm for him to remove the cuff. Hook made to remove the magical item but stopped, noticing that Nimueh had given him her _left_  arm.

"Nice try lass," he murmured, grabbing her right arm and unsnapping the cuff. Nim clenched her jaw and pulled her arm roughly out of his grip. The pirate only smiled sweetly at her.

"Ladies," Hook called. "In this world, we are slaves to time. And ours is running out. In other words, tick tock."

Emma made her way over to Hook and Nim with her arm held out, prompting the pirate to smirk. "I was hoping it'd be you."

"Just get on with it," Emma scoffed.

Hook placed Emma's hand on his shoulder and snapped Nim's cuff onto her wrist. "That's a good girl," he murmured and the woman ripped her arm away from him. "This will allow you to climb. There  _are_ other dangers. Thankfully, you've got me to protect you."

Nim snorted.  _'Oh,_ thankfully.' Emma seemed to have the same thought, looking at the pirate with a ' _Yeah right'_  look on her face.

But the pirate continued with, "I can't climb one-handed, can I?"

Emma dug in the satchel for the pirate's hook and handed it to him, watching as he screwed it on.

"And I know that Nimueh would be comfortable with Excalibur back?" He raised an eyebrow at Emma, who sighed and retrieved the sword. Her fingers brushed against something else in the satchel that Mary Margaret clearly had not seen when she searched the bag. Emma grabbed hold of it and brought it out of the bag.

 _It_ was a hip flask covered in ornate mosaic tiles which glittered blue and green in the sunlight. Nim's eyes widened and she jumped forward, snatching the flask from Emma as well as Excalibur.

The blonde blinked in confusion. "What _is_  that?"

Hook swallowed, noticing the guarded expression on Nim's face. "Never you mind. Shall we?"

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Don't think I'm taking my eyes off you for a second."

"I would despair if you did," Hook grinned lecherously.

Emma ignored him. "Let's go."

With that, the two began their climb up the beanstalk.

* * *

Nim opened the flask and took a sip, closing her eyes as she felt the familiar warmth spread through her. She was sitting next to Mary Margaret, with Mulan and Aurora sitting opposite them and conversing amongst themselves, as the four females waited for Hook and Emma to return. Nim felt better now that she finally had her possessions back but was still virtually powerless. Mary Margaret frowned as she watched the girl drink from the unfamiliar flask, assuming her to be drinking alcohol and wondering at the girl's age.

Mary Margaret remembered that she had met the Lady of the Lake once in her childhood and the girl before her looked virtually unchanged. Despite the fact that they had met more than forty years ago, the girl had not aged. But, Mary Margaret supposed, half of that time had been spent frozen under a curse. The Lady of the Lake had always been someone Mary Margaret had looked up to and she had always treasured that meeting but this girl, whilst  _physically_  appearing the same, seemed like a  _completely_  different person.

What had changed her so?

"Hey," Mary Margaret nudged Nim and the girl looked up curiously. "I met you once. As a child."

Nim frowned momentarily, looking over the woman's face and realisation slowly dawned on her. She smiled, nodding as she recognised Snow White.

* * *

_A loud sob filled the air surrounding the lake._

_A young girl was sitting on a tree stump, her head in her hands, as she cried. Snow White had just lost her mother and the grief was practically tearing her apart. Queen Ava's funeral was to take place the following day and Snow had no idea how she was going to be able to deal with it. Her mother was her hero, the person she had always looked up to. And now she was gone and there was a hole in Snow's life that could never be filled. She had needed to get away from the castle, away from her father's sad eyes and mournful looks, away from the funeral arrangements._

_She_ needed  _to grieve and so, distracting Johanna with a request for a certain kind of silk that could only be found at one particular market stall that Snow knew for a fact was not up today, Snow had run to the only place of solace she knew._

_The lake._

_Her mother had always loved this place and frequently shared picnics with Snow there. Ava had regaled Snow with tales of the Lady of the Lake, its supposed guardian, and had described in detail the beautiful magic the Lady possessed. Snow had always asked her mother if she had seen the Lady but Ava had gently smiled at her daughter and told her that it was said that the Lady only came to those who needed help, and only then to those with pure intentions._

_Snow had always wished to see the Lady but never had._

_Until now._

_"Why are you crying?" A gentle voice startled Snow and she looked up to see a dark haired girl staring at her in concern. The girl was standing at the shore of the lake, her feet submerged in the water, and wearing a long blue silk shift that fluttered around her ankles. She walked towards Snow, a reassuring smile on her face, and crouched before the sniffling girl._

_Snow's eyes widened as she realised who the girl was. "Are you the Lady of the Lake?"_

_She said the title so reverently that the girl chuckled. "Yes, I am. But you can call me Nimueh if you prefer. And what may I call you?"_

_Snow smiled weakly as the Nimueh gently brushed away her tears. "Snow. Snow White."_

_"Well, Snow White, what is it that has caused you such pain?" Nimueh took Snow's smaller hands with her own and squeezed them._

_"My mother, she died," Snow murmured._

_Nimueh made a sympathetic noise and moved to sit cross-legged in front of Snow, still not letting go of the girl's hands. "Ah."_

_"Everyone keeps telling me that they're sorry for my loss but…"_

_"…But you don't want them to be sorry," Nimueh finished. "You just want your mother back."_

_"I just, I don't know how I'm supposed to live without her," the girl muttered miserably._

_Nimueh swallowed, understanding the girl all too well. "Do you want the truth Snow?"_

_Snow nodded. "Of course."_

_Nimueh took a deep breath. "It isn't going to be easy. There will be days where all you want is to feel your mother's arms around you or hear her laugh just one more time. And that hole in you that she left, well, it won't_ ever  _be filled again. You'll always feel like there's part of you missing…but eventually, you learn to be okay with that. Sure, there'll be days when you suddenly get scared that you can't remember what your mother's voice sounded like or what the colour of her eyes were, but you_ will  _get through it. It won't be easy but you have people that love you, don't you Snow?"_

 _The girl nodded and Nimueh smiled, albeit sadly. "Well, then you're going to be_ fine _."_

_Snow watched the girl carefully. "You sound as though you're speaking from experience?"_

_Nimueh shook her head. "No, my parents are both quite alive. I just…I haven't seen them in a very long time."_

_Snow gasped. "That's horrible."_

_"I've learned to live with it. But it's okay, because I got to meet you," Nimueh grinned and Snow grinned back. "Now, you best be getting back to those people that love you."_

_Nimueh stood up and helped Snow to stand, before straightening the girl's cloak and patting her gently on the shoulder. "It was a pleasure to meet you Snow White."_

_"And you…Nimueh," Snow smiled gently._

* * *

Mary Margaret smiled at the memory but the smile dropped when she saw the leather cuff sitting on Nim's left arm.

"I thought there were only two of those?" she asked, pointing at the magical item. Nim looked down and swallowed when she saw what the woman was pointing at.

Could she?

…This  _could_ be the last chance she got…

Nim pointed at the cuff and then turned to point at the beanstalk, before shaking her head. Mary Margaret frowned but, after Nim repeated the action, she understood what the girl what trying to tell her.

"The cuff isn't for the beanstalk?"

Nim nodded and then gestured to her throat. Mary Margaret's frown deepened at that. "It's got your voice?"

Nim nodded vigorously.

"Who  _did_  this?"

Nim frowned, wondering how she could convey that to Mary Margaret. After a while, she pointed up the beanstalk.

"Hook?" A shake of the head. Nim waved her hands, as if prompting Mary Margaret to keep going.

"…Cora?"

A nod.

"But  _why_ would she do that?"

Nim bit her lip as she thought. She held out her hands, flashing out her fingers repeatedly.

"…magic?" A quick nod. Mary Margaret gasped silently in realisation. "Cora's stopped you from using your magic!"

Nimueh gave her a sarcastic thumbs-up, although her anger was not directed at Mary Margaret but at the woman who had trapped her magic within her body. Nim could feel the pent up energy just screaming to be used but had no way of doing so and it was instead fueling her frustration. Nim had definitely  _not_ signed up to be stripped of her powers and her voice just to get her revenge on her father. It almost made her wonder if it would be worth it.

…Almost.

"So I take it that you can't remove the cuff?" Mary Margaret was asking and Nim shook her head sadly. "But what if I could? Would you get your magic and your voice back?"

Nim shrugged and then nodded: ' _I suppose so'._ Well, it was more of an ' _I hope so'._

"Well, I've got to at least try," Mary Margaret smiled and she reached out, gently taking hold of Nim's left arm and laying it in her lap. Nimueh watched nervously as the woman took the cuff.

Mary Margaret's hand recoiled like a shot, as if she had been burned. The woman looked at Nim, a hint of fear in her eyes.

Nim closed her eyes in disappointment, feeling a weight settle in her stomach. Great. Just  _great_.

"I'm sorry Nimueh," Mary Margaret apologised, cradling her hand. Nimueh turned to look at the woman's hand and winced when she saw the ugly red welt on Mary Margaret's palm. She touched it gently and looked up at Mary Margaret apologetically. Nim smiled slightly to show the woman that she was sorry that she got hurt because of her, and that there were no hard feelings.

"We'll find another way to get it off," the raven haired woman promised but Nimueh found it hard to believe her words. Cora was using this cuff against her to make sure she co-operated. Yes, Nimueh wanted to get back to Storybrooke so that she could get her father to feel the pain she had felt but of course Cora doubted her, perhaps thinking that some shred of sentiment for her father would turn Nimueh against her. And if Nimueh turned, Cora would be in serious trouble… hence the cuff.

Nimueh clenched her jaw and looked up to see Mulan drawing something in the ground with a stick.

"What is that?" Aurora asked and Nim stood up to get a better look at the drawing. It was a sundial.

"It keeps the time," the warrior replied, prompting a frown from Mary Margaret.

"You have somewhere to be?" she called.

Mulan ignored the question, instead saying, "We can mark watches- take turns sleeping. We'll most likely have to walk through the night again, so we should rest while we can."

"I'll take the first shift," Mary Margaret offered.

"I'll stay up with you," Aurora put in.

Mulan nodded, "Okay," and turned to walk off.

Nim stood up stretching and nodded at the two women before following Mulan, grateful for the opportunity to finally put her head down. She felt like she hadn't slept in…ooh, twenty eight years?

* * *

Nim awoke feeling only slightly rested. Her magic was simmering beneath the surface and had meant that she felt too awake to get to sleep. The girl sat up with a silent groan and pulled herself to her feet, checking her belt to make sure that both Excalibur and the flask were both in place.

She re-joined the other women to see Mulan peering at her sundial and Mary Margaret attempting to calm down an agitated Aurora. It appeared that the princess had had a nightmare as she was shakily explaining to Mary Margaret, "It was the same as last time. I was in this room. This…this red room. It was bright. Blood-red curtains. There were no windows or doors, so it didn't make sense, and I couldn't get in or out. I was trapped. The curtains- they were on fire. It was horrible."

Mary Margaret rubbed the princess' back as she listened to the girl's tale. "It's okay."

"I was hunched in a corner," Aurora continued, getting more and more emotional, "and I looked over into the other corner. And in the shadows, there was someone else there. I just saw his eyes. He was looking right at me."

It's okay," Mary Margaret comforted. "These nightmares…they will fade away. I promise."

"Did they for you?" Aurora asked and Nim finally understood what was happening. Aurora's subconscious had travelled to the land that it had been in when she had been under the sleeping curse. Nimueh had overheard her talking about it to Mulan back in the haven and she now made the connection that Mary Margaret had once been under the same curse.

Mary Margaret nodded. "Yeah. Come on. Come on. I'll sit with you until you fall back asleep. Who else do I have to take care of?" She looked up, noticing Nim's appearance, and smiled at her. Nim returned the smile and sat down on the log beside her, ready to take over her watch.

Nim didn't realise that she had dozed off again until a commotion caused her head to jolt out of her hands. She blinked then jumped off of the log to see Mulan, Aurora and Mary Margaret arguing by the beanstalk. Mulan had her sword drawn and looked as though she was trying to chop down the beanstalk, whilst Mary Margaret and Aurora were adamantly trying to get her to stop. Nimueh felt her stomach jolt at the idea of the beanstalk falling and ran to the archer's side. If that beanstalk came down, Emma and Hook wouldn't be able to return with the compass and they  _needed_ that compass.

"What, you're just going to leave her to die?" Aurora was shaking her head, eyes blazing at the thought.

Mulan sighed. "Ten hours. She may already be dead."

"No, st-"

The princess was cut off by Mulan swinging at the beanstalk. The other three women stared in horror as a surge of magic ran up it and disappeared into the clouds.

"No!"

"No stop!"

' _No!'_

Nim held her breath as she waited for something to happen, for the overgrown plant to come tumbling to the ground and, with it, any hope Nim had for getting some sense of closure.

But…nothing. Of course. Thank  _goodness_ Mulan hadn't thought to use Excalibur…

Her eyes fluttered closed in relief but snapped open when she felt Mary Margaret rush past her. The woman tackled Mulan to the ground and the two started fighting, pulling at each other's hair and clawing at the other's face.

Nim clenched her jaw and strode forward, grabbing Mulan who was now on top by the scruff of her armour and yanking the woman up. Mulan continued lunging at Mary Margaret, prompting Nim to take a tighter hold on her and shoot a look at Aurora to help her out. The princess rushed forward and grabbed Mary Margaret a lot more gently than Nim had.

"This was your daughter's wish!" Mulan hissed, breathing heavily.

"I don't care what you say!" Mary Margaret spat. "You do not put my daughter in danger!" With that, she shot forward out of Aurora's grip to backhand Mulan but a voice stopped them both.

"Stop!"

All four women looked up in shock to see Emma jumping down off of the beanstalk. Nim looked behind her, expecting to see the familiar figure of the leather-clad pirate, but frowned when Killian was nowhere to be seen. In her confusion Mulan shrugged out of her hands and came to stand beside her, one hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret called in glee, jumping out of Aurora's grip to hug her daughter. "You okay?"

Emma shrugged. "Two earthquakes and a jump from a beanstalk. I think my brain's still rattling around a little."

"I did what she ordered, nothing more than that," Mulan stated, nodding towards Emma as she tried to explain her actions. "Did you get it?"

Emma nodded, patting where the compass obviously was hidden. "Yep."

Aurora frowned, noticing the look on Nim's face and then the absence of the pirate. "W-where's Hook?"

Nim's eyes narrowed as Emma merely said, "He's detained. Let's go. Get your stuff. We've got ten hours before he follows us."

The three women began to move but Nim stayed stock-still, with her eyebrows raised as she looked at Emma. The blonde, feeling the girl's gaze, turned to look at her.

"Nim you coming with us, or do you want to wait for him?" Emma's question was loaded and Nimueh knew instantly that this was a test.

Was she going to stay and help  _them…_  or help Hook? Was she to be  _trusted_?

Nim didn't miss a beat and nodded her head at Emma. The blonde nodded, satisfied, but Nim knew that she would still be keeping an eye on her. Nim didn't care. She had nothing to prove to this woman: she would help  _whoever_  got her to Storybrooke the quickest, no matter who that person was. And as long as that was Emma and her buddies, Nim would happily co-operate with them. Sure, Hook was an old friend, but Nimueh found that that hole in her chest only cared about one thing right now, and it  _wasn't_  him... And it certainly wasn't _Cora_.

* * *

 _Nimueh stumbled through the forest, clutching the flask to her chest as she knocked against a tree. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she swore when she saw the familiar garb of the Queen of Heart's soldiers. After all, she_ was  _wearing the exact same thing. Nim struggled to unbutton the scarlet jacket, unbuckling the belt and throwing it down as she continued to run. Maybe they wouldn't recognise her…?_

_"ACE!"_

_Or not._

_Nim rolled her eyes, and threw a fireball over her shoulder, the other hand fastening the flask to the belt on her trousers. According to the pained grunts, it had hit at least one person. Nimueh smirked in satisfaction, running her right hand over the flask and allowing her magic to wash over it._

Ha _. She'd like to see the Queen of Hearts try and control her without it. She'd never be able to thank Alice enough for retrieving it for her, for interrupting her adventure with the love of her life just to help her…_

 _The smirk slipped off of her face when she caught sight of another set of the soldiers in front of her. Nim skid to a halt, swearing under her breath, as she turned to the left. More soldiers. And the right._ More  _soldiers._

_Nimueh span around hopelessly, her eyes widening as the soldiers closed in on her. She threw up her hands, pushing them back magically, but more kept on coming. A flick of the wrist caused a branch to fall down on a group of them and a swipe of her hand produced a blaze of fire. Nimueh bit her lip, wondering how long she could keep this up._

_Luckily, she didn't have to._

_"Enough!"_

_The soldiers parted to reveal the regal figure of the Queen of Hearts. Cora glided towards Nimueh, a mocking smirk plastered on her red lips as she surveyed the girl._

_"Did you really think that I would allow you to leave_ that  _easily?"_

_"Well, I was hoping so," Nimueh snarled, sending a wave of magic at the Queen. Cora merely threw up a hand and the spell fell away uselessly._

_"My, my Nimueh, you really have weakened whilst here, haven't you?" She was right in front of Nimueh now, her eyes glittering in triumph._

_Nim scowled._

_"Now don't be like that," The Queen scolded. "I have something for you. Something that I think you will be more than happy to take."_

_"What could you_ possibly  _have that I'd want?" Nim spat._

_Cora smiled. "A way to get to revenge on Rumpelstiltskin."_

_Nim's eyes widened._

_"There. I knew that that would interest you."_

_"How?" Nim frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and attempting to block the flask from sight. Cora noticed and her smile widened causing Nim to grimace: it was terrifying._

_"Guards, escort the Ace of Hearts to the throne room. We have a lot to discuss."_


	3. Chapter 3

Hook was beyond pissed off. The Swan wench had left him in the giant's grip for ten hours.  _Ten bloody hours._  He had been fuming as he began his climb back down the beanstalk and the journey had done nothing but intensify his rage. The pirate finally jumped down, expecting at least that Nim was waiting for him, eyebrows raised and foot tapping impatiently.

But she wasn't. Instead Hook was faced with Cora.

He sighed.  _Of course._   _Bloody selfish girl._

* * *

The five women had found camp for the night in the woods and Nim was sitting on a log, legs stretched out in front of her, as she kept watch. Aurora was sleeping and Emma had left to retrieve Mary Margaret, leaving Nimueh alone with Mulan. The woman seemed to be permanently on edge but her dark eyes were soft as she watched Aurora sleep.

The trees rustled and Nim tensed, one hand flying to Excalibur but dropping when the leaves parted to reveal Mary Margaret and Emma. She nodded in greeting but turned back sharply when she heard Aurora startle awake. The princess gasped, her first words being an alarmed, "Snow! Snow!"

The archer was instantly by her side, "Hey. I'm here. It's okay, it's okay. It was just another nightmare."

Aurora shook her head vehemently. "No. This time was different. There was a little boy. He…he put out the fire. He talked to me."

Mary Margaret frowned and Nim leaned forward, her interest piqued. Aurora had  _met_ someone in the Netherworld? That was new.

"A little boy?"

"What'd he say?" Emma chimed in, crouching before her.

Aurora looked at her. "He said…he said his name was Henry."

Emma's eyes widened in shock and Nim remembered the woman mentioning that name before. Was he a relative of hers? A friend?

Emma dug around her pocket for a moment before pulling out a creased piece of paper. "The boy you saw in your dream- is that him?"

Nimueh didn't hear Aurora's reply because she was too busy staring at the likeness of the boy, her stomach growing heavy. She  _knew_  that face. She had  _drawn_  that face… She had been  _looking_ for that face for  _hundreds of years!_  And he was Emma's-

"-How could you dream of my son?"

_Oh God._

_He was Emma's_ son.

Nim leaned back, barely listening to their conversation as she pressed her palms together and then placed them under her nose. This was too good to be true! Not only was Rumpelstiltskin in Storybrooke but  _he_ was too!

…But that meant that  _somehow_ she had to get to this land, find her father and enact her revenge  _and then_  find the boy, get him away from Emma  _and_ convince him to come back with her.

…Great. That wouldn't be hard  _at all_.

"The sleeping curse. It has to be," Mary Margaret was saying and Nimueh looked at her with wide eyes.

Wait. Was Henry the grandson that Mary Margaret was talking about?

Oh.

"I went through it, Aurora went through it…"

"Henry's been through it because I wouldn't believe him," Emma finished bitterly and Nim heard the self-loathing in her voice. That just meant that she would be  _even more_  protective of the boy and that made Nim's job even harder. Fantastic.

Mary Margaret's face turned sympathetic. "Emma…"

But Aurora was annoyed. "What else did you lie about?"

"I was…I wasn't lying," Mary Margaret stuttered out. "I was protecting you."

"What did he say? Henry? In the…in the dream?" Emma asked.

"He just said his name. He… And then, I woke up, and…it was over."

"Emma. It's going to be okay," Mary Margaret reassured her daughter.

"We are so  _far_ from okay," Emma shot back, rubbing her forehead.

"No. We have a way home now."

"We have a  _compass_ and the wardrobe ashes are still with Cora."

"Any attempt to steal from her would be suicide," Mulan put in and Nim couldn't stop herself from nodding in agreement. There was  _no way_  she would be able to go up against Cora without her magic…and getting that cuff off was looking less and less likely.

"Not anymore. We can stop her," Mary Margaret disputed and Nim looked at her in exasperation. Was this woman naïve or just plain stupid?

"How?" Mulan seemed to have the same thought.

"I don't know," Mary Margaret admitted and Nim resisted the urge to snort. "But I know someone who does… Rumpelstiltskin. He'll know a way."

Nimueh grit her jaw at the mention of her father and Emma's eyes travelled over her, remembering Hook's words about the Dark One ruining the girl's life. "Henry," she murmured, understanding. "We can talk to him. Now we can communicate…Nim?"

The girl looked up reluctantly.

"You gonna be okay with that?"

Nim was shocked that the woman was actually asking for her opinion but just grimaced. It wasn't as if she could  _stop_  them and…well; it was ironic that her father would end up actually helping her with her revenge. She smiled, motioning for them to go ahead.

"Wait, wait," Aurora sputtered.

Emma grinned. "Oh yeah, Princess. You're going back to sleep."

* * *

After Aurora awakened with a jolt and confirmed that she had told Henry all that they had agreed, the group decided to move on, determining it would be best to keep moving in case Hook or Cora caught up with them. At present, they were making their way through the forest and Nim was fiddling with the cuff, glaring at the piece of leather as though it had done her a great evil…which it kinda had. Emma noticed the cuff and opened her mouth to enquire about it when she saw Mary Margaret shaking her head out of the corner of her eyes. She frowned but closed her mouth, making a gesture that she would be asking her mother about it later.

"How close are we?" she asked instead, her concern returning to her son. "Henry could already be waiting in that Netherworld."

Aurora shook her head. "No, we planned to meet back there in two hours."

"You're not going to leave him waiting," Mary Margaret placed a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder but the woman wasn't convinced.

"Yeah, but what if he's-"

"He was fine," Aurora cut her off forcefully.

"There," Mary Margaret sounded satisfied. "That looks like relatively safe high ground," she nodded up ahead of them. "We'll set up camp there. Aurora, you'll settle in and find Henry- get the information we need from Rumpelstiltskin. And we do this fast, in and out. It's still dangerous out here."

* * *

Nim found herself in the same position she had been in only hours before; Mulan watching Aurora sleep and herself sitting with her chin propped up on her hands and elbows on her thighs as she kept watch. Mary Margaret and Emma were sitting a little way off, murmuring to each other and occasionally shooting looks in her direction. Nimueh rolled her eyes: it was obvious they were talking about her. She leaned back, her head against a tree as she stared off into the dark foliage.

Let them talk.

* * *

"So that cuff is the reason she can't talk or use her magic?" Emma's voice was full of doubt as she stared dubiously at her mother.

"I met the Lady of the Lake once as a child," Mary Margaret replied. "And that was definitely her," she nodded in Nim's direction. "She looks  _exactly_ the same. And back then, she could  _talk."_

"So Cora did this to her?" Emma asked and Mary Margaret nodded. "But why would she do that?"

"Insurance I guess," the princess sighed. "To make sure Nimueh didn't betray her… and binding her magic certainly stops her from using it  _against_ her."

Emma chewed her lip as she thought. "We don't even know  _why_  she wants to come back to Storybrooke. If Hook was telling the truth and Nim wants revenge on Gold, we can't take her back with us."

Mary Margaret's eyes drifted over to the girl who was leaning silently against her tree. Her gaze was melancholy, one hand firmly on Excalibur's hilt and the other tapping absentmindedly against her knee. The girl Mary Margaret remembered was not one she thought capable of violence…but was Nimueh that girl?

"Look, I think that we don't know the whole story behind it. Maybe Rumpelstiltskin did something truly horrible to her?" the woman sighed. "And I'm not condoning violence," she added quickly at Emma's raised eyebrow, "but maybe we should hear her out."

"Just one problem with that," Emma quipped and Mary Margaret grimaced, knowing that now was the perfect time to share her thoughts with Emma.  _She_ hadn't been able to remove the cuff, but that didn't mean that  _Emma_  couldn't. Surely, if anyone could remove it other than Cora, it was the Savior?

Mary Margaret opened her mouth to voice that thought when she was cut off by a twig snapping. Nim was on her feet immediately, drawing Excalibur, with Emma not far behind. "What was that?"

Walking towards them were people. Nim narrowed her eyes: she recognised some of those faces as people from the village… and there was something off in the way they were walking. Their actions were jerky and too forceful, as though they were unused to walking.

That's when it hit her. They were being controlled. By  _Cora_.

Emma ordered Mulan to wake up Aurora as she rushed to Nim's side. "Cora did this didn't she?" the blonde asked her and Nim nodded gravely, bringing Excalibur up defensively as the zombies came closer.

And then they were upon them.

Nim rushed forward, Excalibur slicing through the zombies as she attacked, going straight for their heads.

How do you kill something that's already dead? You chop off its head.

Nimueh kicked one zombie in the shin and the corpse fell to its knees, leaving her free to swing Excalibur at its head. The decapitated orb fell to the floor, rolled once then stopped whilst the headless body uselessly crumpled. Nim looked up to see Emma on the ground, a zombie on top of her, and the compass rolling away from her. Her eyes widened as another zombie picked it up.

"The compass," Emma yelled. "The compass!"

Mary Margaret shot the zombie holding the arrow with the compass, causing the corpse to drop the magical item. Emma and Nim both scrambled to get, Nim diving to the floor with her hands outstretched and pushing Emma out of the way. Emma grabbed Nim's left arm, using it to propel herself forward. Her fingers closed around the compass and she grabbed it triumphantly, not noticing that her other hand had closed around Nim's cuff…

…and was pushing it off of her arm.

Nim stopped as she felt the cuff sliding off of her arm and watched numbly as Emma stood up, one final push sending the piece of leather careening to the ground.

"Oh my God," she breathed and then grabbed her throat elatedly. She could feel her magic's jubilance at finally being free, the power dancing through her and practically singing in joy.

Emma heard the exclamation and looked down to see Nim staring up at her with wide eyes, one hand around her throat.

"Emma, you did it!" Nim jumped up, grabbing the blonde in a bruising hug. Emma froze in shock, staring at the girl as she pulled away.

"I-I- I  _what?_ "

Nim didn't get the chance to answer a voice called, "A little help please!"

She looked around to see Mary Margaret struggling to fight off all of the zombies on her own. Nim swore quietly and grabbed Excalibur from where it had fallen when she had dived to get the compass.

"Any idea how to kill these things?" Emma breathed.

"The heads," Nim instructed, raising her voice so that a shocked Mary Margaret could hear too. "Chop off the heads."

They both nodded and the three women got to work beheading the remaining zombies. With all three of them working together, and Nim's added use of her magic, they made quick work of Cora's minions. With one final flick of her wrist, Nim dispatched the last of them, pulling Excalibur out of the chest of another fallen one and beginning to wipe the blood off on the bottom of her corset top. She looked up, feeling there was still something wrong.

"Wait, where are Mulan and Aurora?" Nim noticed that they were two women down. Emma looked round, whilst Mary Margaret called, "Mulan?"

"Where are they?" Emma murmured.

Nim sighed, "Let's go look for them." Before she could move though, her eyes fell on the piece of leather that had previously been sitting on her wrist. "But one more thing before we go."

"What's that?" Emma asked, turning back to look at the girl.

Nim conjured up a ball of fire and threw it at the cuff, watching in satisfaction as it burst into blue flames. She looked up and grinned. "Okay. Now I'm good."

Emma shook her head, a small smile on her face, and watched as the girl strode past her. The three left the camp, ears open to listen for Mulan and Aurora.

Mary Margaret touched Nim's arm gently and the girl turned to look at her. "What happened?"

The corner of Nim's mouth twitched up and she tilted her head in Emma's direction. "Your daughter is very special Snow."

Mary Margaret smiled and was about to answer when she was cut off by a rustling. Excalibur was out immediately, only now Nim had the addition of a fireball in her left hand, and Mary Margaret knocked an arrow.

However it was not a zombie that emerged from the bushes but Mulan. And she was alone.

"They took her," Mulan told them. "Aurora's gone."

Nim sighed and extinguished the ball of fire, ignoring the shocked look she received from the warrior. "Brilliant."

* * *

The four continued trekking through the forest, Mulan seeming more and more irritated with every passing second. Nim kept her eyes on the compass which Emma had taken custody of, knowing that Cora would use Aurora as a way to get them to give her the compass. She clenched her jaw: no way in hell did she want to go grovelling back to  _Cora_. But what choice did she have? As if these three- even with Emma's moment of power- could  _defeat_ the old hag. She scolded herself for even coming with them in the first place: she should have  _known_  that Cora would find a way to emerge victorious.

…She just  _really_ didn't want to go back to that woman.

Nim's fears were proven true when a crow suddenly landed on Mary Margaret's shoulder. Mulan and Emma drew their weapons but Nimueh stared at the bird resignedly, knowing that this would be Aurora's ransom note.

"Wait," Mary Margaret held up a hand to stop them and cocked an ear to listen to the crow as it cawed, apparently 'talking' to her. Eventually the bird flew off and Emma rounded on her mother.

"What the hell was that?"

Mary Margaret's face was drawn. "Cora. We have until sundown to bring her the compass. It we don't she'll kill Aurora."

Mulan's response was so predictably immediate that Nimueh rolled her eyes. "Give it to me."

Emma's eyes widened and she pulled out of the woman's reach. "Hold on, Mulan. Just give us a minute to consider."

"There's nothing to consider!" Mulan snapped. "A compass is not worth Aurora's life."

_I beg to differ…_

"We need a plan to get back Aurora  _and_ keep the compass," Mary Margaret stated. Nim pulled a face, knowing that it would never work but not wanting to say anything.

"My vow to Phillip was to protect Aurora," Mulan declared, "That promise is all that is left of him, so it  _shall_  be done." With that, she lunged toward Emma and tried to grab the compass.

But it disappeared suddenly in a flash of turquoise smoke…

…only to reappear in Nim's outstretched hand.

Mulan gaped and both she and Emma turned to look at the girl in shock. Nim closed her grip around the object, looking at the women with a smirk.

"How did you…?" Mulan trailed off, her mouth hanging open.

"If you want this compass, you're going to have to fight me for it," Nim smiled, a dangerous glint in her eyes. If Mulan was surprised at her display of magic, she was astounded at the fact that the girl could now speak.

Emma held out her hands warningly to both Mulan and Nim. "Now guys, let's not be too hasty."

Nim rolled her eyes. "This compass is the only chance you have to get home to your son. And you're going to let her ruin that?" She raised her eyebrows at Emma challengingly.

In response she gritted her teeth and opened her mouth but Mary Margaret beat her to it.

"Mulan," she appealed to the warrior, "Mulan, give us a few hours, please. If we haven't defeated Cora by then, you can have the compass."

The woman pursed her lips. "You can't hope to defeat her. We no longer have access to the Dark One's assistance."

For some reason, Mary Margaret's face brightened. "Maybe we don't need it. Nim?" The girl reluctantly took her eyes off of Mulan to give her a questioning look. "You have your magic back. Can you use it against Cora?"

Nim's gaze dropped abruptly and her hands fell to her sides. She muttered something incoherent.

Emma sighed and leaned in closer. "What was that?" she snapped.

"No, I can't," Nim hissed, eyes blazing as she met the blonde's gaze head on.

"What? Why? You seemed perfectly able to use it against the zombies!"

"Yeah, petty spells! My magic has been bound to a leather frigging cuff for  _weeks._  Do you know what happens to magic when it has been contained for that long, Emma?"

The woman rolled her eyes at the patronising tone Nim's voice had taken, but shook her head.

Nim smiled grimly. "It becomes volatile. There's no way I could use any spell bigger than I did on the zombies and, believe me, it takes a helluva lot more than  _that_ to destroy Cora."

Emma sucked her teeth and ran a hand through her hair.

"Actually, we do have access to Rumpelstiltskin's power," a voice said.

Three sets of eyes snapped to the hopeful face of Mary Margaret. The woman quickly continued, "Aurora isn't the only one who's been under a sleeping curse.  _I_ can go back to that Netherworld."

"You sure you can do that?" Nim sounded sceptical.

"The door to that place is closed," Mulan continued her train of thought. "You said it yourself."

Mary Margaret swallowed. "There may be a way…A way for me to go back into a deep slumber. One that can let me access it again."

"Another sleeping curse?" Emma asked.

"Oh how dramatic," Nim muttered under her breath but was ignored as Mary Margaret said instead, "No, not another curse. I don't need one. I've been under already. I need to go into a sleep where my natural defences slip away- when my mind stops protecting me."

"How?" her daughter frowned.

"Your sleeping powder," Mary Margaret turned to Mulan, causing Nim to mouth the words confusedly. "If I inhale it, I will fall into a deep enough sleep that I should be able to do this."

Mulan winced. "I used the last of it on the giant."

So  _that_ was how Emma had gotten away.

"Then make some more," Mary Margaret pressed her.

"The poppy plant is extremely rare in this kingdom, but I know of a place that may grow some more. It's a bit of a journey from here."

"Can we make it by sundown?"

Mulan nodded. Nim took a deep breath, "Well, we best get going then." She made to step forward but was stopped by Emma's hand on her chest. Nim looked at her, an irritated flicker in her eyes. "What now?"

"Give me back the compass." Nim made to protest, perhaps issue another threat but was cut off by Emma. "Look, if your magic is pretty much useless, I'm just as capable of protecting it as you are...Trust me."

Nim rolled her eyes, trust being the last thing she wanted to give but sighed and pressed the object into Emma's outstretched palm. "You better not let me down."

* * *

"Once we crest this ridge, we'll be near the woods of the dead," Mulan explained, leading the group as they made their way through the woods.

Nim looked up from where she had been slicing through the foliage and grimaced. "What a lovely name."

Mulan frowned at the comment and continued her directions. "The last poppies in this realm have taken seed there."

The two resumed their hacking at the undergrowth, with Emma and Mary Margaret suddenly lagging behind. Mulan glanced over her shoulder to see the two women muttering between themselves and then looked back at Nimueh.

"What exactly do you want in Storybrooke?" The warrior asked.

Nim barely looked at her. "Hook already told you. I want revenge."

"…For what?"

"Rumpelstiltskin killed my mother," Nimueh replied shortly, still not looking at the woman.

"And _you_  want to kill  _him_?"

Nimueh finally turned to look at her and grinned wolfishly. "Oh, I  _never_  said  _that_."

"Then what  _do_  you want?"

Nim's grin died away and she merely stared stonily at Mulan. "I hardly think that it's any concern of yours."

Mulan's eyes narrowed but she turned away, choosing not to pursue that line of questioning further. "Just because  _they_  trust you, doesn't mean that I do."

Nim nearly laughed out loud but resisted so that she only released a snort. "Is that supposed to  _hurt_  me?"

Mulan refused to rise to the bait, instead hissing, "No. It's supposed to tell you that I'm going to be keeping an eye on you from now on."

This time Nim  _did_  laugh, but it was a laugh without humor. "Relax okay? I'm not going to hurt your precious Aurora." Mulan stiffened at the comment but Nim ignored her. "In fact, I'm  _perfectly_  happy to get her back to you but  _only_ as long as I get what I want too."

Mulan considered what she said for a moment, before finally nodding shortly.

"Good," Nim nodded in return and the two turned back to their task.

* * *

Nimueh stared down at the red flower, uninterested, as Mary Margaret commented, "It's beautiful."

"Well, as long as it does its job, it could be sludge brown and stink of ogre farts for all I care," Nim commented wryly, prompting Mary Margaret to pull a disgusted looking face.

Mulan shook her head exasperatedly and withdrew her dagger. "I'll use my dagger to crush the seeds. We're doing this the old-fashioned way."

"You sure?" Nim waggled her fingers at Mulan, raising her eyebrows. "Don't want a little  _magical_  assistance?"

Mulan blinked. "I think I'll pass."

Nimueh shrugged. "Probably for the best." Suddenly she jumped as a burst of magic shot out of her hand and hit a nearby log, causing the wood to burst into flames. Nim looked up sheepishly but pointed at the log, before looking pointedly at Emma. "See?  _Volatile."_

Emma sighed. "You just- just stay away from anything flammable."

"That might be a little difficult," the teenager replied, waving her hand around at the forest with its many, _many_  trees.

The blonde rubbed her forehead. "Just sit. And shush."

Nim mock-saluted and then parked herself next to Mulan, watching as the woman ground the poppy into powder. Mary Margaret sat beside her, twiddling her thumbs nervously.

It didn't take too long before Mulan announced, "The powder's nearly ready."

"How long will the effects last?" Mary Margaret asked, moving to make herself comfortable against a fallen trunk.

"It's difficult to say. Maybe an hour, or much less."

Nim swallowed. "Will that be enough?" She directed her question to Mary Margaret, who shrugged. "As long as Henry's in there when I am, I shouldn't need much time."

Emma crouched by her mother's side. "I'll be right here. Say hi to my son for me."

Mulan grabbed a handful of the powder and bent down beside Mary Margaret before blowing the powder gently into Mary Margaret's face. The woman inhaled the cloud of red powder and promptly passed out. Mulan straightened up and looked at both Emma and Nimueh in turn. "Let's just hope this works."

Nim crossed her arms over her chest, glancing nervously around their makeshift camp and her eyes settling on one tree in particular. "I'll keep watch for a bit," she offered. Emma and Mulan barely had the chance to nod before Nimueh was gone; climbing the tree with such ease that Emma wondered whether the girl was some sort of gymnast. Nimueh settled herself on a sturdy looking branch and unclipped the flask from her belt, taking a hearty swig from its contents and sighing lightly.

"Any other surprise talents you haven't told us about?" Emma called up to her.

Nim shrugged. "I can make a mean egg in baskets?"

"Of  _course_  you can."

* * *

Mulan sighed silently and raised her open palm in front of Nim's sleeping face. The girl had just lost herself to unconsciousness and Mulan had immediately sprang into action. The compass was clipped onto her belt and she had shimmied up the trunk- admittedly with less agility than that possessed by the teenager- until she came face to face with Nimueh. After their talk, Mulan knew that Nim was too big a threat to leave it simply to chance that she wouldn't awake and so the warrior had withheld a small portion of the powder. Now, she blew the red powder gently into Nimueh's face. The girl started, startling Mulan into nearly losing her grip on the tree, but settled almost immediately. The warrior let out a sigh of relief. Now all she had to do was get the damn thing to Cora.

* * *

Nim's eyes fluttered open and she instantly frowned, scolding herself for falling asleep. She sat up and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, glancing down at what looked like three sleeping figures below her. She sighed, wondering why on earth she had allowed herself to get involved with them. Her hollow chest thrummed slightly as she took in their peaceful faces but it stopped when the image of her mother's face flashed before her eyes. Milah's eyes had haunted Nimueh's sleep for the past  _two hundred_ years…at least. For so long she had made herself forget about the events of the day, had hidden away on that island and refused to leave. Unlike Killian, her every waking thought had not been of killing Rumpelstiltskin. She couldn't let herself think like that because it hurt too much; making herself remember how easily her father had crushed her mother's heart was  _too much_. So instead she had left her rage simmering beneath the surface and hadn't allowed herself to grieve…It was unhealthy, she knew, and sooner or later she was going to explode…But what better idea was there than channelling all of that negative energy at the man who had been responsible for it in the first place?

She was knocked out of her thoughts suddenly by Mary Margaret jolting violently awake. Immediately Emma was by her side and Nimueh scuttled back down the tree to join the two women.

"Hey," Emma caught her attention. "Hey, you okay?"

Mary Margaret jumped to her feet, jerking away from her daughter. Her eyes roved over their belongings, as though she was looking for something.

"What happened?" Nim frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for more powder," Mary Margaret replied absentmindedly, not pausing in her search.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we're out of that," Emma informed her. "What happened?"

"No. I have to go back in. He's all alone," Mary Margaret's voice leaked desperation and this prompted Nimueh to grab her wrists gently, forcing the woman to stop her frantic search.

"Henry?" Emma gasped. "What? Is he okay?"

Mary Margaret shook her head and she started struggling against Nim's hold. "No. David."

Nim let go of Mary Margaret's wrist and turned to Emma. "Who's David?"

Emma's reply was distracted. "Mary Margaret's husband. He's also my dad…It's complicated." She turned back to her mother. "What was David doing there?"

Nim blinked at the answer but pushed away the confusion as she heard Mary Margaret's yelled reply from where she was scavenging, "He went under a sleeping spell so that he could see me. He thought that my kiss would wake him, but it didn't. And now he's trapped."

"Okay, slow down," Emma commanded and Nimueh followed Mary Margaret, crouching by her side and touching her arm gently. The woman stopped her actions at Nim's touch. "David is trapped in there?"

"I have to get back," Mary Margaret declared softly. "There's only one way to help him."

"True Love's Kiss," Nimueh breathed.

"Yes, but…it won't work in there. We have to get back. If we don't-"

Emma cut her off with a forceful, "We will. We will."

"Now you're so sure?" Mary Margaret scoffed.

"Yes. You told me to have faith, and now I'm telling you. We will make it back. Okay? Did you get the information?"

Mary Margaret nodded. "It's Rumpelstiltskin. He said the key to stopping her is in his jail cell."

"Jail cell?" Nim repeated and the two women nodded. She blinked. "Well done."

Mary Margaret frowned but, after a moment, smiled. Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay. Then let's go get it. Come on- get your stuff. Come on."

Nimueh straightened up, offering a hand to Mary Margaret and helping her up. The raven-haired women left to retrieve her belongings, leaving the brunette to watch Emma check her pockets. The blonde's search became frantic and Nim's eyes grew wide as she realised what had happened.

"Emma?" she breathed uncertainly. Emma met her eye, her own panicked eyes confirming Nim's fears. "No…"

"What?" Mary Margaret was back by their side.

"The compass is gone," Emma told her. Nim looked around, suddenly realising their missing companion.

"And so is Mulan."

* * *

Nimueh sprinted through the forest like a bloodhound after a fox with Mary Margaret and Emma not too far behind her, all the while berating herself for falling asleep and allowing Mulan to escape with the bloody compass. She  _knew_  that she shouldn't have given into Emma: even with her erratic magic, she would have been a  _far_  better keeper of it. Or at least it would have given her the chance to put something she could use to trace the damn thing. As it was, they had to rely on Mary Margaret's tracking skills.

"There she is," Nim breathed, pointing up ahead and gesturing to Mary Margaret to do her thing. The princess pulled out an arrow and shot it so that it hit a tree next to Mulan's head. Immediately the woman stopped, allowing the other three to catch up to her. Nim pulled out Excalibur and pointed it threateningly at Mulan.

"That was a warning shot," Mary Margaret warned.

"I wouldn't try anything stupid if I were you," Nimueh added.

"How did you find me?" Mulan sighed, raising her hands slowly.

"I know a thing or two about tracking," Mary Margaret replied.

Emma stepped next to her mother. "All we want is the compass."

"Very well," Mulan nodded. Nim's eyes narrowed as she saw the woman's hand drift to her sword and immediately Excalibur was at Mulan's throat.

"What did I say about doing anything stupid?" she sighed in mock-disappointment. Mulan grit her teeth and glared back at her but said nothing. "Now how about you give me that compass? Do you really  _want_ to fight me?"

"I won't seal Aurora's fate," Mulan stated forcefully and this time Nim really did sigh.

Mary Margaret gently pulled Nim's arm down so that Excalibur was no longer threatening Mulan. "We learned how to overpower Cora. Once we get what we need, we will defeat her, and Aurora will free."

Mulan shook her head. "Another journey- just as I predicted there would be. Our best chance to save Aurora is to make that trade now."

Nim cut her off, "I thought I made it clear that that isn't going to happen?"

"Then I hope you're prepared to use that sword."

Nimueh twirled Excalibur and smirked. "Oh you have no idea." Mulan drew back her sword and two were about to clash when a voice yelled, "STOP!"

Nim dropped her arm and sighed. It was Aurora.

"Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but how the hell did you get here?" Emma stuttered, eyes wide in shock. All four women stared at her, two in shock, one with happiness, and Nimueh with a growing sense of suspicion. Yes, how  _had_  she escaped?

Nim moved away from Mulan so that she stood between Mary Margaret and Emma and frowned at the escapee princess.

"Were you followed?" Mulan asked her frantically, striding towards Aurora and grabbing her arms as she checked her over.

"I…I don't think so," Aurora answered, her gaze on Nim. The girl's frown deepened and she crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her now empty left arm from Aurora's view. There was no way that she had escaped. None at all. "Cora may know I'm gone, but she didn't see me escape."

Nim withheld a snort.  _Yeah right._

"How did you escape?" Emma asked suspiciously and Nim was grateful that at least one of them still had a brain.

"It was Hook. He let me go."

_I highly doubt that._

"Why?"

"Because of you," Aurora turned to Emma, missing Nim's rolled eyes. That cemented her suspicions: she knew Hook far too well to know that he would  _never_  have risked his vengeance for a woman he barely knew. No way. Still, Aurora continued, "He said he wanted to prove to you that you should've trusted him. That if you had trusted him you could've defeated Cora together."  _No they couldn't._ "That the two of you could've gotten the remains of the wardrobe. Without him, you'll have to go up against her all by yourself. He only wants to help. I…I think he may care for you."

Emma glanced at Nim, noticing that the girl had fallen strangely silent. Ever since the return of her voice and magic, the girl had barely shut up. But she hadn't spoken since Aurora's appearance. What did she know?

"Did you find a way to stop Cora?" Aurora's voice brought her attention back and Emma nodded. "Yes."

"Where are we going?"

"Rumpelstiltskin's cell." Emma chose not to tell Aurora anything of Nim's possible magic, not until she had spoken to the girl first. Aurora nodded, "Great. Then lead the way."

Emma motioned for Aurora to go in front of her, with Mulan by her side and Mary Margaret directly behind. She walked next to Nimueh and, as soon as Aurora was out of earshot, she muttered, "What is it?"

Nim looked up at her and bit her lip. "She wasn't let go. There's no way. Hook wouldn't do that unless there was something in it for him and I'm sorry Blondie, but I don't think you're gonna cut it."

Emma rolled her eyes but motioned for the girl to continue. "Just don't let her know about my magic so then we have an advantage."

Emma nodded. "It might be a little difficult to get Mulan to go along with that."

"Don't worry. If she causes trouble, I'll deal with her."

**Author's Note:**

> Well, since this is a Peter Pan/OC story, for obvious reasons, Peter is not Rumpelstiltskin's father. That storyline was just kinda creepy to me and I had this idea before I watched that episode so...
> 
> I hope you liked it. xx


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